Somebody to love
by sophiesaurus1
Summary: Cophine AU / Pre-teen Cosima and Delphine find friendship and more after they both discover that being outcasts is better when you've got a buddy by your side. [This story is not finished but is no longer being updated.]
1. Chapter 1

It was Cosima's first day – New town, new school.  
She figured seventh grade couldn't be so much different from the sixth, or the fifth, or perhaps even the fourth. Although, she was unsure for this new place was so different; alien to her, if you'd allow such a term. Maybe different was good; maybe different was what she needed.

Cosima pushed up her glasses and bounded down the stairs, her tattered back pack (that she refused to throw in the trash for its DNA helix design enthralled her way too much) ever so slightly knocking against her with every step. This could've been a sign that maybe she was too eager, too excited for this change but in her mind, she could never be too excited. A new school meant new opportunities, new things to learn – specifically, new science- and thankfully, no bullies. Well, not yet anyway.

Expectedly, she turned into the kitchen and much to her lack of surprise, her parents were gone. A note, scribbled on post-it was stuck to her lunch bag. It simply read 'Good luck, my little scientist' with an embarrassing amount of kisses in her mother's neat scrawl. The words were meant in good nature, this Cosima knew but sadly, she also knew her parents were never around so what did it matter?

She grabbed her lunch and screwed up the post-it note. On her way out, she chucked it in the trash.

Upon locking up the house, Cosima pushed her glasses up again and let out a sigh, twinned with an ever self-deprecating smile. She eyed her street warily, still unfamiliar to it despite having been here a good few weeks previously during the summer. Cosima took the few steps that lead from the front porch to the street, eyes still wide, hands clasped tightly on her backpack straps whilst her thumbs rubbed the material as if it would soothe the nerves that played in her stomach.

She tried to focus on her surroundings. It was sunny, almost blindingly so and it kept everything pleasantly warm, which only highlighted the permeating scent of flowers that lingered consistently – Her neighbours It seemed, were plant breeding enthusiasts and she wasn't quite sure whether she thought it was lame or super cool, but most likely the latter because of the science it involved.

The walk to her bus stop wasn't too far and thankfully, she found the way by trailing behind some older school kids. They noticed her and whispered, but didn't seem too unpleasant. In fact one of them asked her if she was new, to which she replied with a chipper "Yep" and they just replied with a smirk and "Well, good luck." As if she needed it.

Which truthfully, she probably did.

She arrived at school after braving the bus journey – which wasn't even that bad if you don't mind sitting next to a kid with scruffy hair, smudged eyeliner and a leather jacket that surely couldn't have been comfortable in the current weather – and headed straight to the office. She was told her locker and sent on her way with a class timetable, supposedly implying she'd have to figure out the way herself.

Finding the locker wasn't bad, per say, but classes? She was lost within 5 minutes and that was after the bell had rung. She looked blindly down the hallway in both directions and sighed, pushing up her glasses with habit and gesturing with a pointed finger at her optional routes. She sighed.

Then, from around the corner, a mess of blonde curls appeared. It was a girl, tall but slim and very pretty – Not like Cosima was staring or anything. Wait, what?

She was walking in Cosima's direction.

"Hey." Cosima called out. The girl ignored her.

Hesitant, Cosima took a step towards her and reached out just enough to tap her arm. The way the girl snapped up her head and met Cosima with piercing eyes told Cosima that perhaps she'd made a bad decision, but by this point there was no turning back. She swallowed despite that her throat was suddenly dry and asked, "do you, uh, know where Chem room 6 is?"

The girl's eyes flitted up and down Cosima's face, taking in every detail. She seemed to struggle with understanding Cosima – to which Cosima was horrified to think she'd asked a student who was deaf or something –as told by the way she scowled slightly.

Cosima raised her hands in apology, "Sorry, I uh – I'm just lost and I don't know where I'm go-"  
"You are new, yes?" The girl interrupted in a surprisingly thick French accent. Cosima was taken aback; her jaw dropped and her mouth hung dumbly. She stared at the fellow student for a few seconds, enticed but when she realised what she was doing ( and was even more horrified than when she thought the girl was deaf) she blushed a little and shook her head to clear any thoughts.

"Yes uh, yeah, yeah I am." She smiled a little.  
Oddly, the girl smiled back. "Okay."  
Cosima nodded slowly and cocked her head to the side, "So…my chem class?"

The girl looked down the hallway then back to Cosima. Despite the hallway being so vast, she had remained close the entire time. Cosima just thought it was a European thing – Like, maybe the idea of personal space was just a little different over there?  
Nevertheless, Cosima was unfazed, which was odd because at her old school she hated people near her. But then again, at her old school she was a loser and if someone was close, it meant she was soon to be the punchline to another 'geek monkey' joke… She'd figure it out later, whatever it was.

Interrupting her thoughts once more (a recurring theme, apparently) the girl then said, "Oui, it is, euh, down the hall. Take a left then go up the stairs and it's on the left again." She said each word slowly and softly, as if they were new on her palate; her accent lingering in more ways than one on certain syllables, giving it a pleasant ring to Cosima's ears.

But alas, the brief interaction had passed and the girl had already started walking away again. Cosima was left standing alone moments later and she wondered what had come over her; she also felt a pang of loss at knowing she had not even learned the girls name. Briefly, as she walked to her class, all she could think of was that girl and her accent and her hair and –

Cosima knew she had to be friends with her, whatever the cost.

When she finally turned up to her lesson, 15 minutes late nonetheless, she was still smiling. The teacher looked a little relieved that the mystery student had finally arrived and he sat Cosima next to a student named Alison, who had a bright beaming face that matched her neat ponytail and bangs down to a T. Meekly, Cosima gave a small 'Hey' and sat down. Alison returned the pleasantry, but was then tight lipped the rest of the lesson, listening intently.

During a brief period where the class was working the professor approached and introduced himself. He said lowly that Cosima was sitting in a girl called Delphine's seat but that she never showed up to class, despite her brilliance. Cosima nodded and got back to her work. Sadly, with a French accent on her mind and confusion laden in her thoughts, her attempts were nearly futile.

When the bell rang, she could only thank god.


	2. Chapter 2

Cosima stood from her desk and she hurried from the room, barely managing to call out a casual "see you later" to Alison, who watched Cosima with a confused raise of her brows.

"Who the bloody hell was that?" A student asked as she approached the desk.  
Alison batted their arm, "You shouldn't swear Sarah!"  
Sarah chuckled, "Aw Ali, you gotta calm yourself down, yeah? It ain't even a proper swear word."  
Alison rolled her eyes and brushed her fingers across her chin in a light motion, thoughtful in nature. She hummed a little, "Well, my mom says it is and I'm sure Cosima wouldn't like to hear it either."  
Looking incredulous, Sarah grinned, "Cosima? Are you shitting- I mean, are you kidding me?!" She motioned to a friend, "Hey Beth, the new girl's called Cosima! Sounds like a proper geek if ya' ask me."  
Beth joined in, chuckling heartily with Sarah but Alison looked at them both sadly. She looked down, playing with her ponytail. She wanted to say that she kind of thought Cosima was cool, but she could never bring herself to talk against anything Beth agreed with, so she simply kept her mouth shut and allowed them to make fun, much to her dismay.

Eventually, she managed to get the two girls walking with her to the next class and although she looked for Cosima (because she couldn't ignore her gut feeling that the girl needed a friend), it was impossible to see her among the sea of people.

On the opposite side of the hall, Cosima was much in the same position. However, she was looking for a different person – The mystery girl from earlier.

Within the hallways all she could see –for her lack of height was an issue- were the big kids that pushed and milled her around relentlessly: the older guys gleaming and the older girls swaying their hips as they talked about nonsensical things. Cosima noticed them all, staring every so often and pushing up her glasses as she did. She had forgotten that such a variety of people could exist, seeing as her old school was so small and _holy watershed, _it was overwhelming.

In the corner of her vision that wasn't covered by her lenses, she eyed a familiar mess of blonde slipping between people. Quickly, Cosima turned as best she could and was delighted to see her nameless acquaintance was bustling through the hall, and certainly doing a much better job at it than she was.

Sadly, she was headed in the opposite direction of Cosima's next class; the pang Cosima felt earlier returned ever so sharply.

She looked around hopelessly, realising that the crowd was pushing her in the wrong direction. Cosima had an idea – A crazy one, but an idea nonetheless. She had always stuck to the rules but suddenly it seemed like it was now or never: it was a feeling she had never quite experienced before. She started to move with the flow of other students and consequently, away from her class. If she was late, Cosima figured she could play the 'I was lost' card…again.

She shuffled in and out of various people, getting shoved on numerous occasions. Of course, she should have probably remembered that being a 7th grader she was unlikely to get much respect, if any, in these halls. But it was no issue, because she determinedly fought her way to walk behind the girl and kept within the flow of other students, realising it was likely the best and only option now.

As they walked, the number of people thinned as people went to their classes. Eventually, it was just her and Cosima once more, like it had been an hour or so before. It seemed the girl had neglected to notice her, of if she had, was not intent on giving Cosima the light of day. Still, Cosima persevered.

She followed the girl through the school from a short distance. They walked through the entire building, apparently avoiding all teachers (which Cosima figured was planned) and managing to get near an exit. When the girl pushed through a door leading outside to a patchy area of grass and gravel on the edge of the school, Cosima's curiosity only grew. But she had a sudden apprehension when it dawned on her how she had followed this girl through the school – Even skipping a class to do so.

"Oh gosh," She whispered to herself, "What am I doing? My mom's gonna kill me." She ran her hands along her hair and eyed the corridor she had just walked down. Then she looked outside again. The question was just a simple matter of '_what if'_ and her body and mind screamed against each other in an angsty pre-pubescent and totally-not-cool argument that her had hands clenching and unclenching with anticipation of her decision.

Sadly, this time, the rules won.  
She was a good student and she intended to stay that way…

Cosima stepped away from the corner she had hid around.

"It is rude to euh, what is the word…stalk." Came the accented voice from the open door.  
Cosima froze. Mouth hung open, she moved it aimlessly up and down a few times, panicked that she had been caught.  
"I uh…stalk? I totally wasn't stalking."  
"And that is why you were following me?"

"Uh…."

The girl peered around the door, looking unimpressed. From her mouth hung a cigarette with smoke that billowed lightly from its tip. The girl took a slow drag, held it and then blew it out into the air, replacing the benign senses of school with nicotine, tar and a supposed secret.

"You smoke?!" Cosima all but gasped and the girl nearly laughed.  
"You are cute to think that the French girl would do anything else."

Cosima looked left then right and gestured with her thumb towards the hall behind them, "Won't you get caught?"

The girl shrugged, "I have not yet."  
Cosima let out a breath she didn't realise she'd been holding, "Oh." Was all she could respond with.

The girl then put out the cigarette by stubbing it against the wall, breathing out a final breath of smoke. "So," She sighed, "I am to suppose my little follower has a name?"

Cosima was still caught up in the smoking thing and didn't even register what she'd said. A French student, who looked her age and smoked?! She wasn't sure if she found that weird or bad ass but at the moment in time she found herself inexplicably drawn to this odd outcast and her weird ways.

"Er, sorry what?" Cosima asked with a gentle shake of her head, "I didn't hear you…was on a different planet, sorry." She added an awkward chuckle to the end of it and instinctively gripped her hands against her backpack, afraid the girl would be put off from her rudeness.

"Your name." She repeated.  
"Oh," Cosima said slowly, "I'm Cosima…like the word Cosmos!"  
The girl giggled; Cosima smiled. "I'm Delphine." She finally revealed, "Like euh…the word Dolphin, I think."

"That's cool." Cosima said with a grin. She pushed up her glasses as her hands slipped from their tense grip, " I just wanted to say thank you for helping me earlier."

Delphine nodded, "It is okay, being new is difficult."  
Cosima's face told a different story, "Well it's difficult finding all the classes because this place is huge but uh, I like it here."  
Cosima was silent for a second; she figured she had nothing to lose. "There are no bullies here."

Delphine smiled sadly, shaking her head at Cosima's innocence. "There are many bullies here, Cosima. I know."

The pang hit Cosima's stomach again. Slowly, it infested and she felt an overwhelming sadness – empathy, for Delphine. They both understood one another's silence and it seemed agreed in that silence (plus their intense eye contact) that they needed to look out for one another. Well, that was what Cosima had interpreted anyway and it seemed reason enough for her to spur her next question, which she blurted without much thought.

"Is that why you weren't in our chemistry class?"

Solemly, Delphine nodded.  
"Oui."

Cosima bit her lip, unsure of what to say. This girl was so different from others her age. She seemed mature and clever, like Cosima could actually understand her and that –even though there's a possibility of a language barrier – this girl was perhaps the key to finding that friend who she could just click with.

Having gathered this all within two meetings, Cosima was still questioning herself. It was illogical and yet everything just made sense. Gladly, she ignored her thoughts for just this once

"Well, I think that, uh, bullies suck, y'know? So you shouldn't listen to them."

Delphine let out a breathy chuckle, saying nothing but seeming appreciative of Cosima's friendly disposition. She held a grin for a moment, smiling dumbly at the floor and Cosima's face lit up upon seeing this.

There was a short silence.

Cosima looked back down the hallway. Awkwardly, she gestured with her thumb once more, taking a few steps back as she did. "Well, it was great meeting you Delphine but I really have to go to math now."  
"I will come with you, we are probably in the same class."

Cosima raised a brow, "How do you know?"  
Delphine shrugged as she stepped through the door and adjusted her jeans, "You seem clever." She replied simply.

They started walking and Cosima could not believe her luck.  
She had made a friend.  
An actual, real life friend.

So then, why would the pang in her stomach not go away?


	3. Chapter 3

In an oddly comfortable silence, Cosima and Delphine made their way back through the school. Every door they passed, Cosima held her breath; any lurch of a shadow made her jump – and oh how it made Delphine smirk.

Delphine moved with a practised grace, as if she'd done this many times before. With hesitance, she peered around corners, checked for teachers and then tip-toed around, leaving Cosima to follow after.

In the home stretch, the unlocking of a door sounded behind them. Delphine turned and her eyes grew wide. "Merde!" She hissed.  
Cosima yelped out in protest but Delphine's hand slapped over her mouth, muffling the sound. Hastily, Delphine grabbed Cosima's hand and started to run with Cosima in tow. They slipped around the corner that led into their classroom; Delphine opened the door in a hurry. They ran in, breathless and giggling.

Their whole class stared at them.

Cosima's eyes shot to Delphine then to the teacher, wide and worried. Her palms were sweating against Delphine's and she forced herself to let go, although earning a sense of loss as she did.

The teacher glared; he stood with an intentional slowness and approached them.  
He loomed over Cosima. "Well, you must be Miss Niehaus." He said, in a distinct unimpressed prose.  
Cosima's mouth wobbled nervously and she nodded a reply.  
"Sit in the seat over there, next to Sarah."  
"Uh, y-yes Sir." Cosima seemed to shrink as she made her way to the seat in silence.

The teacher looked at Delphine. In reply, Delphine tried to look nonplussed but you could see behind her bitten lip expression that the very idea of being here tormented her. Her hands clenched and she looked up with large, youthful eyes, making her appear more like a child than ever before. In fact, just being in the classroom, Delphine had minimised and appeared as the pre-teen she was.

"-And Miss Cormier.", the instructor continued as the gestured to a seat near Cosima, "-you will sit next to our new student, seeing as her arrival has been the first thing to bring you here for in 2 weeks. Obviously, she's had some sort of effect"  
Delphine nodded stiffly, "Merci." She replied in a hushed tone.

"Okay class, interruption aside, we're now going to start work on some simple algebra."

Cosima grinned at his words and relaxed into her seat – She knew this class would be a breeze.  
It seemed that Delphine thought so too, seeing as she looked to Cosima with an expectant expression, then smirked in knowing fashion when Cosima looked back.  
Of course, they worked together.  
And of course, they worked well.

Their teacher (of whom Cosima learned to be called Mr. Bell) set them some textbook work – Simple substitution of x in an equation; while their classmates looked unknowing and whispered confused remarks among themselves, Delphine and Cosima worked away.

With ease, Cosima and Delphine answered the first set ahead of everyone and Cosima was glad she had found someone who could keep up with her. Simply because she found it embarrassing always being ahead as it meant she got called to give answers. Often, that meant in front of a group of people who didn't particularly like her. With Delphine however, Cosima found herself content. Also, it appeared that Mr. Bell had all but forgiven them for their rude interruption of his teaching, although he mentioned that doing it again would result in detention.

At the end of class Cosima packed up her stuff and Sarah, the girl who sat on her other side, bumped her on the shoulder,

"You're the new girl, yeah?" She asked with a sweet (but false) tone.  
Cosima took a step away, handling her backpack carefully to swing it on her shoulders. She nodded in a feeble manner, "Yeah."  
"I'm Sarah. "She began but then the bell rang aloud and Sarah silenced for a second. Then, appearing thoughtful, she said "We have a short break before our third period now, I can show you around? I promise the big kids won't bother you if I'm around."

Cosima looked Sarah up and down. She looked tough; perhaps not as much as some of the older girls but enough to take a few hits and possibly throw a few herself. In truth, it made Cosima a little nervous to decline since it was obvious she was out-powered and smaller in size.

Cosima held a meek noise of thought in her throat and pushed up her glasses. She stared at Sarah unsure.

"I am helping her, Sarah." Came Delphine's voice from behind and then she steered Cosima towards the door with haste. Sarah frowned, "Well maybe she doesn't wanna be your friend, weirdo."  
As they left the class, Delphine went to throw back a remark but hesitated, choosing to lower her head and keep moving instead.

Cosima looked confused but then, as she looked back at Sarah's glare, it clicked.  
"She's one of the bullies?"  
Delphine looked up, cheerless, "Oui." She whispered.

Cosima breathed out a self-deprecating chuckle "I've got a lot to learn about this school."  
Delphine nodded, "You do. I am the, euh…outcast and Sarah is the bully."  
"That much I already figured." Cosima admitted, "What about the bigger kids?"  
Delphine shrugged, "They will push you in the hall and out of the lunch line. It is the same everywhere, no?"  
"My old school was a lot nicer, actually."  
Looking at the floor, Delphine only mumbled out an "Oh."

They walked in an awkward silence together. Neither knew what to say.

All of a sudden, a voice filled with merriment called Cosima's voice.  
"Cosima! Hey, wait up!" The person –a girl, obviously- yelled with enthusiasm. Then, Cosima became aware of a familiar overbearing perfume smell beside her and an arm that linked with her own. The person pulled her away from Delphine.

"Hey, it's me Alison, from Chemistry? I want to welcome you to our school properly!" Alison said with a chipper tone. Cosima glanced back at Delphine, of who had reverted back to her avoidant floor staring ways and seemed in no mood to talk. She then looked again to Alison.  
"Oh, uh…thank you? But uh, you see, I was – I was kind of talking to Delph-"  
Alison interrupted, "-I think we're going to be good friends."  
Cosima stared at her, speechless.

"Oh, are you 13 yet?" Alison asked; she seemed genuinely interested and unaware of Cosima's increasing discomfort.  
Cosima took another wary glance back at Delphine and the increasing distance that was created. To Alison, she replied with an awkward, "uh…no."  
Alison nodded, "Me neither." She paused for a second, "When I'm 13, my mom said I can get my ears pierced!"  
Cosima forced a grin, "…Great."

Uncomfortable, Cosima pointed back to Delphine. With great force she jerked her arm to free herself from the girl's insistent grip. "I, uh, gotta go back to Delphine."  
Alison seemed bothered for a minute but she smiled at Cosima nonetheless. She then said "Okay! Well, you should come over after school!"

Cosima declined politely and it was obvious that it disappointed Alison. As she walked back to Delphine (who had watched the entire conversation) Cosima had concluded that Alison was most likely part of every single school committee. It was also most probable she had an agenda with every student that entered these halls. Despite being all good qualities, Cosima considered avoiding her because she knew that friendship with Alison meant sleepovers and conversations about boys – Stuff Cosima didn't even know about. Stuff Cosima couldn't even to begin to think about, even though every other girl her age seemed to. At the moment, Delphine appeared her only option and she was happy enough with that.

"That was, euh, interesting." Delphine said in a low voice with an eventual smirk spreading back across her face.  
Cosima shook her head, "I've only been here three hours and I've had the weirdest time of my life."  
Delphine tapped her pocket where she had hidden a cigarette earlier, indicating she needed to go smoke again. Cosima nodded, adding, "Exactly what I mean, you know? I'm here with you –and I don't even know you- but I'm perfectly fine that you smoke but I'm not fine with talking to some preppy girl from my chemistry class."  
Delphine shrugged and made a vague gesture, "Being new changes things."  
"Yeah." Cosima sighed.

X-X-X

The rest of Cosima's day continued normally or well, as normally as a day can when it's your first and you don't know anything.  
Truth to Delphine's words, students pushed Cosima in the hallways, and forced Cosima out of the lunch queue as they leered over her.

Within classes, Delphine sat and worked with her, much to every teacher's surprise. Alison also tried to befriend Cosima again, to moderate success in the fact that Cosima did not leave mid-conversation. Instead, Cosima allowed her to talk endlessly about wanting to make sure she felt as welcome as possible – Which only ended with Cosima feel alienated and uncomfortable…again.

When the final bell rang, Cosima and Delphine were quick to leave and they walked to the front of the school together. Nervously, Cosima held the straps of her backpack and ran her thumb along the worn material. She was going to ask Delphine to come over to show her mom she had actually made a friend, and on her first day too!

Cosima opened her mouth to talk; Delphine cut in first.  
"It was, euh, nice to meet you Cosima but I have to go home. My parents are very strict about me being home on time."  
Cosima shifted with unease and gave a dejected smile, "Oh yeah, ditto. Thanks for everything… I'll talk to you tomorrow?"  
Delphine nodded, "Oui"  
"Do you have facebook?"  
"I am not allowed until I am 13." Delphine grumbled.

The pang in Cosima's body returned at the idea of having to wait until tomorrow to talk to her only friend but she made a show of being unaffected.  
"Okay, well I better catch my bus." She excused, glancing towards the bus that clearly was not ready to leave. She took a step back but Delphine followed and pressed a kissed to the side of Cosima's cheek then moved and pressed a kiss to the other. Delphine smiled with innocence, "Oui, I will see you tomorrow." With that, she walked away.

Cosima's mouth hung agape. Delphine glanced behind her shoulder and waved; Cosima managed to wave back dumbly. Once Delphine had disappeared from sight, Cosima dropped her hand and smiled. In an instant, she gained a rush of unexplainable giddiness.

On the journey home, Cosima kept that smile. As time passed, that happiness spread from her expression to her entire body. She felt like her prospective friendship was a book that she just wanted to keep reading. Of course, there were a few dreary pages that included Alison talking to her about some boy called Donnie. Thankfully, Alison's stop was two before hers, so it wasn't exactly story ruining: It was a mere sub plot that perhaps Cosima could ignore.

When Cosima did arrive at her own home it surprised her when she met with the sight of her mother. The smell of dinner in the oven and a cosy atmosphere amongst her usually cold household also lead Cosima to confusion.  
Cosima slung her backpack on a chair and pretended a smile.  
"Hey mom." She greeted with a faked casualness.

Cosima's mother smiled back warmly and brought Cosima in for a hug. It was a little awkward but Cosima knew she was trying so hard to affectionate – Something her parents, as devoted workaholics, couldn't quite always manage. "Hey 'Cos." She said softly, "How was your first day?"

Cosima picked up an apple and tossed it between her hands before she took a bite. "Good." She said, spraying apple juice everywhere and chuckling out a feeble "oops" afterwards.

Her mom asked, "How were classes?"  
Cosima replied, "Fine." And then she paused for a few beats, "…Someone wants to be friends."  
Cosima's mom's face lit up; she grabbed Cosima by the shoulder and gave her an excited little shake, "That's great, honey! You should invite them over some time…Of course, I might not be here but that won't be an issue I'm sure."

Cosima took a slow bite of her apple and nodded. "Yeah, no problem." She said, sounding somewhat tense. She reclaimed her backpack and went to the door, "I'm going up to my room."  
Her mom had already picked up a magazine and was flicking through it; she waved her hand in dismissal, "Okay, honey." She said, without sparing Cosima a second glance.

Cosima went upstairs and collapsed on her bed.  
This was going to be a long night. 


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sadly, this chapter is un-beta'd due to my beta reader being busy. Hope you can deal with some unforeseen grammatical and spelling mistakes!**

The following day, before first period, Sarah and Alison stood at the school gates. Alison on looked the arrival of the buses with anticipation, nervously brushing her fingers across the bottom of her chin.  
"Are you sure you didn't scare her, Sarah? You were being nice to her, right?" Alison inquired.  
Sarah huffed, "Yeah yeah Alison, I was the nicest."  
"You always say that but sometimes you're not nice at all."  
"I promise, yeah? She's either gonna be our friend or she ain't, no big deal." Sarah sighed out, rolling her eyes.

Alison writhed her body from side to side a little and looked at Sarah with a pouted, somewhat desperate expression – Clearly, it was a bigger deal than Sarah thought.  
"But I'm friends with everyone!"

Sarah snorted. She indicated Delphine, who shuffled past them with her head glued to the floor as if to make herself as discrete as she could.  
"Oh yeah?" Sarah challenged, "What about frenchy science freak over there?"  
Alison reasoned with a somewhat hesitant drawl "Talking to her is hard."  
"Yeah yeah yeah, you believe the rumours like the rest of us Ali!" Sarah humoured, punching Alison's arm playfully, only to be nudged away by the other girl who quite clearly had had her mood dampened.

After a moment, Alison said, "Cosima is her friend. So, when Cosima is our friend, Delphine can be our friend too." And then she smiled, as if she had it all planned out.  
Sarah simply huffed out another sigh and grumbled, "Yeah, whatever."

x-x-x-x

Cosima stepped off her bus, taking a deep breath of air that was heavy with fumes. A sense of underwhelm filled her chest cavity as she realised this was only her second day and it didn't looked much better than the first – Except for the possibility of Delphine's company.  
Searching for her French friend as she approached the school, Cosima neglected to notice Alison approach her. The other girl linked arms with her and Cosima pulled away within an instant. Though off put, Alison looked hopeful.

"Hey Cosima, wanna hang out at lunch?" She asked with a smile.  
After a second of thought, Cosima waved her hand in dismissal, "Uh- no thanks." She mumbled, "I um, was gonna hang with Delphine again."  
Alison pouted, "C'mon, Delphine can sit with us!"

Cosima stared at Alison, a brow raised.  
She shifted her backpack with unease, "No really, it's okay. You don't have to uh, pretend to be nice to the new kid" Cosima grinned with self-deprecation, "and you're not nice to Delphine anyway."

Alison looked at the floor for a moment; she fiddled with her pony tail, unsure of what to say.

Cosima walked away in silence, making a sudden beeline to Delphine who she had caught in her vision seconds before Alison ambushed her.

Delphine gave a shy smile. "You are still here?"  
Cosima grinned in reply, "Yeah, you're the only person I know and I kinda really need any sort of friend I can get right now."  
"Why not Alison?" Delphine looked over to where Cosima once was and noted that Alison seemed a little blue, "She seems nice."  
Cosima's stomach dropped at the thought, "Nah she's just, uh, too…I dunno. _Not me_. Anyway, you're cool."

Delphine accepted the reason with yet another reserved smile and turned with Cosima; they started to head towards their first class.

They tackled the hallway together this time – Delphine shoved people out of the way whilst Cosima followed behind closely. It must have been a funny sight, Cosima thought, but it worked well so she didn't complain. Cosima even thought she saw the smallest hint of a chuckle when Delphine looked behind at the number of pissed off 9th graders they left in their wake.

Cosima and Delphine arrived at English with minutes to spare and walked in, albeit Delphine looked a little hesitant.  
They sat at desks next to one another. In a moment of consideration, Cosima said to Delphine "I can help you, if you want?"  
Delphine gave an insistent and appreciative nod, "Thank you. I get the, euh, talking but the writing is a little harder."  
Cosima smiled, "I understand."

The bell rang and the teacher walked in. A tall, intelligent woman named Mrs. Duncan, who –according to Delphine – had a kid in their grade called Rachel. She introduced herself with an air of sternness but seemed nice enough as long as you didn't cross her.

She handed out some books to Cosima and Delphine (Seeing as Delphine had rarely attended the class) and then started the lesson without much fuss.

To Cosima, it seemed that every class she had so far was just a little more encouragement that perhaps this school wasn't so bad and with Delphine by her side her prospective of having friends (or perhaps even just one, which was enough) seemed much brighter too.

Cosima looked down at her work with a growing grin. She realised 2 days in a place she didn't know already seemed to outweigh 12 years in a place she did and she wasn't sure if that was promising, or just a sign that she was desperate. Either way, Cosima was content in her position, if not happy.

She turned to Delphine and allowed her to copy from the notes she'd made whilst whispering small encouragements to ensure that Delphine knew she was doing well.

Mrs. Duncan watched them from her desk, a knowing smile graced on her usually steely features. She could see Cosima's openness and Delphine's guard in their movements – Cosima gestured when she talked; walked through words and their meanings by pointing and visually breaking them apart, whilst Delphine watched and nodded, taking in the information with an intense focus. It was a little bit of ying and yang, but they worked together so well. Mrs. Duncan considered calling them over when the bell rang, but any doubts about Delphine now seemed misplaced, so she let them continue without further comment.

Delphine and Cosima left class with smiles: Delphine because she managed to understand and Cosima because she managed to help but despite this, Cosima was perhaps somewhat relieved when it became clear Delphine wasn't headed where they were supposed to be.  
She followed without question, secretly loving the thrill of skipping class.

x-x-x-x

"So uh, what class are we missing right now?" Cosima asked, looking over her shoulder for teachers as Delphine took a drag from her cigarette.  
"Euh, it is…well, you know-"Delphine raised her eyebrows in a suggestive manner.  
Cosima chuckled lightly, "Dude I have no idea what you're talking about."

Delphine took another drag and breathed out the smoke in a painfully slow manner. "It is the education of," She lowered her voice, reducing it to a discrete, embarrassed whisper "…sex."

Cosima's cheeks flushed bright red; her stomach tightened and all she managed to say was a simple "Oh" before her expression turned sheepish.

Delphine nodded in an awkward agreement to her reaction. "Oui. It is not something I want to talk about with other students either."  
Cosima gave a meek smile, "Same here...I don't even understand how it works properly." She admitted, giving a breathy laugh.  
"We are 12 years old, I do not think we are ready for it." Delphine reasoned with one final drag before she stubbed the cigarette out against the wall. It seemed she didn't get the irony of the situation.

Cosima felt irked at Delphine's use of 'we'. A sudden question then urged itself to the front of her brain and demanded to be said; Cosima squirmed internally at whether it was appropriate but her curiosity always got the better of her and at this time and place, she had no one else to ask (besides google on her cell phone, but she didn't want to test her chances.)

For a moment, Cosima picked at her fingernails in contemplation. Then –with the most feigned façade of being casual a person can manage-, she said "Y'know, I've heard that two girls can have sex but no one seems to tell us about that…what do you think?"  
Delphine hummed in thought, "I do not know but I have heard too, especially from the older girls in the hallways. They are always talking about…euh, what is it called-"  
"-bisexuality?" Cosima suggested, the word leaving itself leaving an odd taste in her mouth when it floated from her lips, "Yeah, some of the girls in my old school talked about it…"

"Oui, bisexuality. I do not know much about it…I think it means they like girls and boys."

Cosima threw up her hands in a hopeless but playful gesture, "We're 12 so it's not like we're going to know, is it?"  
"Well," Delphine said with a wise drawl, "I have never considered it, have you?"

Cosima smirked, shaking her head adamantly, "Dude, no. Guys are hot."  
Delphine raised a single brow, "Boys our age are not hot, and they are silly."

Cosima rolled her eyes, "Well yeah," She drawled, "I mean like, Zac Efron or that guy from the…uh, that One Direction band, y'know? They're hot."  
Cosima hated lying: Zac Efron wasn't hot, neither was One Direction but every other girl in her grade thought that and pretending felt the only way; it seemed Delphine believed her too because she nodded in agreement –Which only made Cosima feel worse.

Cosima felt bad, the ever prevalent pang in her stomach making a sharp return; stirring Cosima into thinking of a distraction.

Of course, she spoke before she even thought about it properly: The words simply an echo from the conversation she had the night before.

"Wanna hang at my house afterschool?" She asked, feeling the hit of hesitance only seconds later. Internally she hit herself about five times for her stupidity but Delphine's reaction told an entirely different story. The girl grinned, nodding with enthusiasm at the invite, as if it was something she'd never been asked before. Although eventually Cosima realised - she probably hadn't.

"Oui Cosima, that would be…that would be great." Delphine chimed, "I have never, euh, been to a friend's before… not in America, I mean."  
Cosima rubbed the back of her neck with a clammy hand, "Yeah cool. I mean, uh, my mom won't be home until a little late so I probably have to cook-"  
"You cook?"  
"Since I was about 9, yeah. Anyway, does that sound cool?"

Delphine grinned again. She pressed a chaste kiss to Cosima's cheek like she did yesterday and then smiled once more (Cosima liked it when she smiled, she decided) before saying, "It sounds very cool."

"So…I'll meet you at the front after school?"  
"Okay."  
"Nice."

They stood in silence after the exchange. The wind rustled through the small patch of glass, only making it more awkward. Delphine shuffled and hoisted her bag; she took a step passed Cosima back into the hallway. "Okay, then we must get to our sex-ed class."  
Cosima cringed at the thought.

Delphine smirked at Cosima's awkwardness and wondered for a second why she was so odd all of a sudden. But the thoughts were lost among others as Cosima kicked the disposition and nudged Delphine's side, giggling as she made immature and obscene gestures related to the very lesson they had been skipping.

They laughed together like the 12 year olds they were, barely managing to hush themselves as they crept about the school. All it took was the simple raise of a finger and they were back into fits of giggles once more.

Cosima hated cutting class.  
Yet, with her newly found friend, it was nothing but thrill.


	5. Chapter 5

Cosima and Delphine walked side by side on the path leading up to Cosima's house, conversation in full flow; happening with ease. They talked of their biology lesson they had last period and about the plant cells they had looked at – how they found them interesting when no one else seemed to. They also talked with wary voices of their sex ed lesson and the lack of actual education they had been given – Simply words with definitions that caused hushed giggles amongst all members of the class - which lead them to the eventual conclusion that they were too young to even need the facts they were given because sex was 'icky' (To use the words of Alison).

However, there seemed to be a mutual silent agreement to not mention their lunch break, which must've broken some record for being the most awkward situation ever experienced. Whilst Alison had been her natural friendly self, Sarah found it hard to adjust to not calling out Delphine every second she had a chance, and Beth? Well, Beth wasn't much of a talker anyway but she seemed to eye Cosima and Delphine with a silent suspicious, which made Cosima extremely conscious of how she sat and talked… It was a feeling she didn't like, she discovered.

Fortunately, conscious was the last thing that described Cosima as she stepped onto her porch and fished her house key from her backpack. She unlocked the door and let it swing open, extending her arm to tell Delphine to go inside. "I just gotta put my key back in the backpack because my mom says I'll lose it otherwise" She explained as Delphine passed her.  
Delphine gave a smirk as she glanced over her shoulder to watch Cosima fumble with her belongings. "That is a good idea, I have lost my key about, euh, 4 times already because I misplace it." She admitted bashfully, "My mother doesn't let me keep a key anymore."  
Cosima walked into the house and chucked her backpack so it landed at the base of the stairs. She gave a small smile, "And I thought I was the clumsy one."

Delphine pouted and gave Cosima's arm a small bat with her hand, playfully exclaiming, "You are so…euh...Cheeky! Oui, you are cheeky."  
Cosima flashed in a grin in reply as she sauntered passed Delphine and went into the kitchen.

Cosima went up to the counter and attempted to hoist herself up to sit on it. She hadn't ever done such a thing before, but she thought it'd look cool if she did. Unfortunately, after a few attempts, it was clear she was too short and she gave up with a frustrated (embarrassed) huff. Cosima adjusted her glasses.

"I've done it before." She insisted, turning back around to an amused Delphine.  
"You are doing it wrong." Delphine said gently, "You need to push up with your arms more because your legs are not strong enough."  
Delphine then demonstrated and propped herself up on the counter with little effort; she grinned at Cosima.

Cosima's brows then rose dramatically in disbelief and her mouth opened with an inarguably impressed grin – Her teeth not quite together as to allow a laugh like exhale to escape.  
"Wow." She gushed, "Ya' got me beat."

Delphine shrugged, "I do it all the time at home when my parents are not looking…which is quite often." She admitted, smirking.  
Cosima gave an understanding smile, "Are your parents not always around too?"  
"Oh no, they are always around…just busy a lot." Delphine sighed, "They actually forgot my last birthday." She shrugged though still smiled, as if forgetting her birthday wasn't entirely heart breaking but Cosima could see mentioning it had brought her down.

"That sucks." Cosima sympathised. She went over to the fridge and pulled out a couple juice pouches, chucking one towards Delphine, who barely managed to catch it due to Cosima's bad aim.  
"When was it?" she asked with her back turned as she rapidly rummaged through various cupboards.  
Delphine watched with confusion, "When was what?"  
"Your birthday"  
"Oh, euh, December twenty first."

Cosima grinned. "…Okay, well it might be a _few _months late but I'm sure we can still celebrate..." She then turned back around; hands full with the only food she felt could fit the situation – twinkies.

Delphine giggled, "You are not serious."

Cosima gave a mischievous grin and opened a drawer to retrieve a birthday candle. She opened a Twinkie and stuck the candle in it.  
"Got your lighter?" She asked, holding out her hand in request.  
Still giggling, Delphine handed it over without a word and watched (with a struggle, obviously because she hadn't used one before) Cosima light the candles wick.  
Cosima smirked as she held up the twinkie to Delphine. "Now you have to make a wish." She said in a tone that was too serious to suit her. Although the façade cracked all too soon and Cosima could barely contain her own grin as Delphine stared at her, speechless.

"C'mon!" Cosima urged, edging the twinkie closer.  
In silence, Delphine closed her eyes for a second. She grew a small smile and looked thoughtful, carefully blowing out the flame moments later. She opened her eyes to Cosima's grin once more, which only caused her to smile again. She could see Cosima stared at her deeply, almost entranced – her eyes large and filled with an innocent joy.

"What did you like, wish for?" Cosima asked.  
"I cannot say because my dream will not come true otherwise." Delphine teased in response, hopping off the counter to finally take the twinkie from Cosima. She removed the candle and ate it quickly.

"But thank you anyway." Delphine said, nodding appreciatively as she wiped her mouth clean of clumbs. "It is nice to know I have a friend to celebrate with."

Cosima shrugged nonchalantly, smiling at she bit into her own twinkie. She didn't really have anything to say, because all she could say was probably way too dorky to say to someone you've known for 2 days, and she certainly didn't want to scare Delphine off. She needed to work on making sure she didn't come off as weird - she found it difficult because it was just _nice _to have someone to talk to who didn't call you a nerd every 10 minutes.

They picked up their juice pouches and drunk them simultaneously, eyeing each other in a silence that wasn't the least bit uncomfortable – The kind of silence you can only get when you know the other person will speak when they want to and equally, so will you.

After a few sips, Cosima suggested, "Wanna go up to my room? It's nicer than chilling in the kitchen."  
Delphine nodded.

x-x-x

Cosima's room was…interesting: A mix of general pre-teen dishevelment and bright, childish colours with more mature, natural tones that began to seep through the paintwork. The various objects that decorated the room ranged from plush Disney toys to a miniature microscope set up in the corner and her walls (painted a painfully feminine pink) were littered with posters – one of 'Lilo and stitch', another of the band 'Paramore' and then by the microscope, one depicting a Charles Darwin quote (one that only Delphine recognised because of her own fascination with science).  
The room looked almost too young for Cosima in its bare form but had grown with her; slowly taken in the obvious signs of teenager-ism and as a consequence, fitted her in a way that suited the awkward transition of kid to teen.

However, when they walked in, Cosima couldn't help but apologise in embarrassment for the Disney and the shades of pink. "My mom won't let me change it yet, she says I'm too young." She grumbled, running a finger across the painted wall in disdain.

Delphine sat on Cosima's bed, laughter tucked behind her small grin. "It is okay. My room is not much better." She picked up a plush toy of Donald Duck and twiddled it's arms so it appeared to be waving, "Although, you should never be sorry for having Disney. They are the best movies."

Cosima hummed a disagreement but didn't argue her point. She went over to her windowsill and leant on it, looking out over the house tops towards the horizon. After a couple seconds of silence, she said, "Hey Delphine."  
In reply, Delphine put down the toy and turned to Cosima. "Oui?"  
"What do you wanna do when you're older?"

Delphine walked over and slumped down to be beside Cosima; she hummed in thought.

"I always wanted to be famous, euh, like an actress or something…" She said, trailing off slowly as if she wasn't entirely finished but decided against continuing.  
Cosima smiled, "You like acting?"  
"Yes, the theatre is one of my favourite things…what about you Cosima?"

Cosima looked away from the window; into Delphine's eyes. She stared for a second before glancing down and she sighed. "It's kind of lame." She said dejectedly.  
Delphine chuckled, "I'm sure it is not lame."

Cosima rolled her eyes at Delphine's assurance. "Yeah okay fine – I wanna be a biologist. Do crazy science and stuff! I think it sounds really cool."  
Delphine nodded and then turned back to gaze out of the window again.  
"Me too." She whispered after a second.

"Why did you say actress, then?" Cosima questioned as she raised a single suspicious brow.  
Delphine stepped away, appearing sheepish. Her hands ran through her hair nervously, gripping at the roots and pulling through the straggled curls, only making it messier than it was before (if that was possible). "…Because everyone our age wants to be an actress, and I supposed…well, I should probably want too as well."

Cosima gave an understanding nod, "You don't wanna be different? I understand…I don't really wanna be different either, because, y'know, weird is a bully magnet. But uh, we just gotta be who we are right? That's what my mom always told me."  
Cosima thought about her words – the talk of being 'who you are' held her interest in particular because she didn't know who she was. Friends, parents, and teachers – They all insist on being who you are, but Cosima didn't quite get who 'she' was. She was 12 and it was a big responsibility to decide…too big of a responsibility, in fact.

Nonetheless, Delphine apparently agreed. "Oui, you are right. I want to be a scientist so I should tell people that."  
"Yeah!" Cosima exclaimed, grinning, "I bet if you keep that confidence, no one will bully you!" And Cosima actually believed that was true – she truly believed if Delphine could keep her head up, keep smiling and being the girl Cosima had met and not the one everyone else knew, that maybe the others would leave her alone. Perhaps it was naivety but Cosima felt hopeful.

Delphine smiled and took Cosima's hand, giving it a friendly squeeze. "Thank you Cosima," she beamed, "you are a good friend."

Cosima felt that confusing rush of giddiness again and overwhelmed by it, gave a massive grin.  
"You actually consider us friends?" She asked; her voice nearly broke from excitement.

Delphine nodded reassuringly, "Oui…I would maybe say best friends, but have known each other two days, so that is silly."  
"It's not silly!" Cosima cried, "It's…It's cool. I mean, I've never had a best friend. So we can like, be best friends now, yeah?"

Delpine giggled, "Of course we can."  
If Cosima's grin could've grown, it would have.

It was then that Cosima noticed Delphine still held her hand. Her hands were warm, but not uncomfortably; certainly not clammy like Cosima's own (which she hoped Delphine didn't notice). Their fingers interlocked neatly and Delphine seemed oblivious to her own action as she then continued to look out of the window.

Cosima wasn't sure If Delphine was just being friendly…perhaps it was like, a best friend thing?  
It was a problem that Cosima didn't know these things because when Cosima didn't know, she tended to panic, and yet she seemed miraculously calm.  
Although, it wasn't exactly a calm feeling per say – It was the pang that Cosima felt every so often: the unexplainable feeling that Cosima felt around Delphine.

Whatever it was, Cosima didn't want Delphine to let go.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey everyone,  
I'm sorry to say this but I'm no longer going to continue this story.  
Sadly, despite my previous love for this story, I've lost all my motivation and passion for it.

Henceforth, I won't be posting anymore but what I have written will stay up.  
Sorry that I can't provide you with an ending - To put any at ease, it would've ended up with them together ;)

Thanks,  
-Sophie


End file.
